QA Area Specialist III - Finished Production (Validation Focus)

About The Department

At Novo Nordisk, we want to make a difference. For more than 100 years, we have led the way in diabetes care. Being part of Novo Nordisk allows our employees to embark on the opportunity to help improve the quality of life for millions of people around the world. In NC, we operate three pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities that are responsible for fulfilling different steps in our injectable and oral treatment supply chains. Our Product Supply Aseptic Manufacturing (PS AM) facility in Clayton, NC is a 457,000 square foot aseptic "fill and finish" site that is responsible for producing innovative, injectable diabetes and obesity treatments. At PS AM, you’ll join a global network of manufacturing professionals who are passionate about what they do.

Position Summary

This role supports our Finished Production area with a focus on review of validation activities. Ensures plant systems batch release, and/or relevant quality processes are compliant with regulations. Has product release authority if role is in batch release. Quality oversight, review & approval of validation activities and documents associated with projects, new systems, changes to existing systems & maintaining validated state of equipment, processes, and systems. Presentation, support & coaching for audits & inspections. Review & approval of complex Change Requests (CR's), Deviations (DVs), CAPAs & other documentation. Performs Self Audits (in conjunction with line of business (LoB)); Quality Assurance (QA) presence & process confirmation on shop floor. Site Clayton Process Representative, as assigned. Able to support all processes & functions in Department. Trends and reports data as applicable.

Essential Functions

• Make decisions on quality & compliance issues with little guidance
• Participate in process group activities as assigned & leads local implementations
• Ensure site compliance with Regulations, ISOISP standards, corporate & local standard operating procedures (SOPs)
• Lead improvement activities/improvement of standards within the assigned process
• Review & approves change control documentation, SOPs & other current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) documentation
• Provide coaching to Site regarding quality & compliance related activities
• Supports, reviews & approves complex cross-functional investigations & root-cause analysis
• Facilitates sharing of regulatory & compliance expectations
• Reviews & approves complex DVs, CRs, (SOPs), trend & report data for CAPA, Quality Management Reviews (QMRs) & Annual Product Review (APR) reports
• Eliminates non-value-added practices
• Follows all safety & environmental requirements in the performance of duties

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or equivalent (GED) required
• Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences or a relevant field of study from an accredited university preferred
• Minimum of seven (7) years of QA and/or related quality experience in manufacturing, utility and/or packaging systems, preferably in the pharmaceutical or medical device field required
• Demonstrated expertise in Regulations & quality systems in one or more of the following: product disposition, DV/CAPA, Change Control, Audits, Supplier Management, Project Management, Validation, laboratory method and equipment validation, warehouse/logistics, and IT preferred
• Quality Risk Management experience required
• Experience with regulatory requirements computer system, such as 21 CFR Part 11, GAMP5, ISO, Data Integrity required
• Experience in use of Risk Assessment & Vendor Assessments during evaluation of change controls, deviation and validation activities required
• Expert in cGMP documentation practices. Requires a minimum of four (4) years of experience in reviewing GMP documents for compliance purposes for approval of quality documentation preferred
• Excellent troubleshooting skills; able to identify root cause of problem required
• Demonstrated knowledge of critical controls & input/output requirements for processes in these areas: semi-finished manufacturing, finished manufacturing QC, IT & process utilities preferred
• Excellent written & verbal communication skills required
• Auditing experience with certification preferred (internal/external) required
• Experience with LEAN, Six Sigma & other continuous improvement methodologies required
• Expert competence in one or more core validation areas (sterilization, packaging, cleaning, utilities, process or computer validation) preferred
• Knowledge of statistical methods (hypothesis testing, sampling, trending, CpK, etc.) required
• Expert in utilizing appropriate root-cause analysis tools & techniques preferred
• Experience with Risk Assessment & Risk Management required
• Demonstrated excellence with time management, organizational & project management skills required